The blower, most of the push buttons and the outside temperature display were inop. Checked basic fuses and all were okay. I did some research and found that there is a problem with the outside air / recirculation motors failing and shutting down the control assembly. The motor is located behind the glove box. Before attempting this repair follow the manufacturers procedures for disabling the airbags along with all other safety instructions.
After removing the glove box assembly I started looking for the motor and connector. The connector is the white connector in the following picture that is above and slightly to the right of the Toyota label on the blower case assembly.
I unplugged the connector and all functions returned except for the obvious fresh air / recirculation motor was inop.
Time to pull the blower case with fresh air / recirculate motor assembly. First the computer assemblies to the right of the case assembly have to be removed. There are screws / nuts located at the top and bottom that need to be removed.
I could not get good pictures of the upper bolts and nuts but the lower ones are visible in the lower right corner of the picture above and are clearly visible in the next picture.
After removing the computers I next removed the piece of duct work shown in the following two pictures.
Next I removed the screw that was just below the previously mentioned duct work.
The next nut is located at the bottom of the blower case on the firewall behind the carpet. It really did not look like a nut but an 8mm socket fit and removed it with no problem.
The next screw is located directly above the insulated refrigeration lines shown in the next picture.
The last screws are the two phillips headed screws that hold the harness assembly to the blower case. They are located below and on either side of the Toyota label. The right one is partially covered by the yellow jacketed wiring harness.
Now you have to very carefully pull the blower case loose and roll it out from under the dash. Part attention to the positioning as you remove it as you have to duplicate it exactly in reverse to reinstall.
With the blower case removed it was very obvious that the link arm was damaged as seen in the following three pictures.
After removing the motor from the assembly a bulge was found in the plastic housing.
A new motor and link arm were installed on the case assembly and the assembly was reinstalled in the vehicle. There are some that recommend that the amplifier assembly also be replaced. However it has a dealer cost of over $400 and the customer did not want to invest that much money into the car. From my own personal viewpoint, it took ten years for the link arm to fail and allow the motor to move past its design parameter causing the lock up and chances are that it will take about that long to repeat the failure. Customer wants to trade the car after the first of the year.
It seems as if the compressor clutch has at least an electrical issue. Let the vehicle cool down. Locate the wire going to the compressor clutch and disconnect it. Move it away from any moving objects. Replace the fuse and start the engine. If the fuse does not blow, then the problem is with the compressor and it will need to be evaluated by someone to determine if the compressor needs to be changed. I would suspect that it does.
Can you please offer any ideas?
1998 Toyota Avalon V6 with Manual AC temp. My air has worked beautifully and strong and I dont think it could be a compressor or freon issue. It just went out on Sunday. We were driving over a small ridge and after working wonderful and strong all day, the entire AC system went out
(control lights,fans,etc). I pulled over and there is some black residue near the serpentine belt (but I think it may be from the old one that was just replaced) I marked the pulley and clutch with perm marker to watch it turn to make sure it wasnt locked up and they were both still turning.
I may be wrong but I was thinking that since it has never given me any issues all these years and still blowing strong that it could just be a relay or an electrical issue. This is not intermittant and the control lights are not flashing, they are off. I have been hearing a slight ticking or rattling under hood that goes away when AC control is turned off. 2 weeks ago my Local mechanic said it was the serpentine belt and replaced it. Noise still here. Then after running the AC for a trip (several hours) everything went off- lights to the AC controls, fans and air conditioner. The clutch is still turning fine. Serpentine belt still intact. I checked the 10A fuse close to steering wheel and it was blown. I turned the AC control off and replaced the fuse. I turned the AC or heater control on and it worked for a few seconds and then it blew the fuse. Could this be the magnetic coil for the clutch? It just seems electrical. Because the air has never had any problems or never stopped blowing cold air, it is hard to believe it would be a compressor. Because of the cars age, I dont want to put alot of money into it. I replaced the motor last year and it has almost 200K miles. I simply want to keep it as an extra auto for short drives to store.
Hi Skully, Glad the post could help somewhat in your case. I don’t know if you realize that for between $10.00 and $30.00 you can have all the info you want on removal procedures from either Mitchell or Alldata. You can find links to both sources at the top of the page within my site.
Hi YES!!
your a life saver damn I got to take out the evaporatoe and replace expansion valve and i have my 96 avalon broke down as your pictures made me see some things I had not. I am a girl so its a bit harder (maybe) for me my ribs are so bruised I am going to go out in the morning and begin day 4 and hope that I can get somewhere.
I managed to get the plastic vent cover off.
I do not know how I am going to get to that screw that is hidden in behind the output vent area.
Your pics of the 98 show the entire arm and motor on the end of the assembly my 96 has the arms at the door way and I will have to double check where the motor actually is..but your pics truly made me sigh a bit of relief BUT
will wait to exhale after the evap is out and expansion valve is in and so forth..
if you could offer help will I be able to get to the screw that is behind the vent duct after the topand bottom assembly are removed? evap door door does NOT want to come out..
Know this is a long comment sorry I just been so stressed on this
Thanks
Thank you very much for these directions. The only source I could locate.
Dennis